Helping your team perform at its true potential

When a team is not performing up to its potential, it’s time to dig in, understand what is getting in the way, and create a plan that puts things back on track.

That is what team building means to me. It is not entertainment. It is not a retreat activity that everyone forgets about once they return to work. It is a practical, structured effort to remove obstacles so the team can do its best work.

Forget the Fun and Games Version of Team Building

Team building has earned a bad reputation. Many people picture blindfolds, ropes courses, trust falls, and long conversations about feelings. Those activities may be memorable, but they rarely change anything once people return to the real world.

I take a different approach. I see team building as problem solving. Something is holding the team back. My job is to help you figure out what that is and then work with you to fix it.

The Usual Suspects

There are many things that can cause a team to struggle. I always start with the most common issues. More often than not, one or more of these six areas are involved.

Direction

Sometimes people are unclear about the team’s purpose. Other times there are disagreements about goals or priorities. Even simple questions like “Should I focus on this or that” can create confusion. Competing interests or unclear leadership often sit at the center of these problems.

Process

These issues show up everywhere. Some people follow one method, others follow another, and no one agrees on what “right” looks like. Often the process was never defined, documented, or optimized. This can apply to core work, supporting functions, company procedures, or even expectations about how teammates treat one another.

Communication

Communication problems deserve their own category. They show up in many forms, including:

• People not getting the information they need
• People ignoring information that is already available
• No shared understanding of how communication tools should be used
• Personal styles that clash
• Lack of transparency and the mistrust that follows

The list goes on.

Relationships

Sometimes people simply do not get along. There may be history, resentment, or a complete lack of trust. Instead of addressing the issue, people turn to gossip, coalition building, backchannel conversations, or open hostility. These are some of the hardest problems to fix because they require people to change how they feel about one another.

Resources

A team may be struggling because it does not have what it needs. This could be staffing, skills, tools, information, or technology. When people lack resources, stress rises. Stress leads to behavior that creates even more problems.

Wrong People

Managers often want to start here. It should actually be the last place we look. Yes, sometimes someone is not a good fit. But blaming individuals too quickly ignores the environment leaders are responsible for creating. I am always reminded of Deming’s line: A bad system will beat a good person every time.

If someone refuses to work in a collaborative environment, they may no longer be a fit. And if the leader is the wrong person, the team will struggle until that is addressed.

My Approach to Team Building

Because I view team building as problem solving, I follow a process that looks a lot like any other structured improvement effort.

1. Assess

I start by understanding the situation. What are people concerned about? What effects are causing the most trouble? What do the relationships look like? I review performance data, engagement surveys, and anything else that helps paint a clear picture.

2. Analyze

I make sense of the data and summarize the findings. I share these with the client to confirm accuracy and to deliver on the first promise of the process: help you understand what is really going on.

3. Set Goals

Once we know the current state, we can define the desired state. There are three ways to do this. Most projects use a mix of all three.

• I can make recommendations.
• You can set the goals yourself.
• Or we can work with the team to answer the question, “What kind of team do we want to be?”

4. Develop and Plan

With goals in place, we generate ideas for how to move forward. We evaluate each idea for impact and feasibility. We start with broad strategies and work our way down to specific projects and action plans, complete with owners and timelines.

5. Implement

This is where the work begins. Some clients take it from here. Others want me to support the effort by owning certain activities or managing the project.

6. Measure and Adjust

Too many team building efforts end as soon as the event is over. No one checks to see whether the changes actually happened.

Real improvement requires follow up. We measure progress, learn from what worked and what did not, and adjust as needed. Then we repeat the cycle.

Let’s Get Started

Your team has more potential than it is currently showing. Maybe the problems are obvious. Maybe everything seems fine but could be better. Either way, I can help. Reach out and let’s talk about the aspirations you have for your team.